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i5  m 

DEC  1  3  ’<37 i 

MAR  2 1 1<|99 


L161— 0-1096 


•SPEECH 

M  l-HVs 


•HON.  JAMES  A.  McDOUGALL 


OF  CALIFORNIA, 


ILLUSTRATING  AND  ADVOCATING 


THE  GREAT  PACIFIC  RAILROAD 

■Delivered  in  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  29th  day 

of  May,  1854. 


The  House  being  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  the  state  of  the 
ii'Union — 

Mr.  McDOUGALL^of  California,  said: 

Mr.  Chairman  :  The  bill  now  before  the  committee  has  been  post- 
;ponkd,  from  lime  to  time,  for  nearly  two  weeks.  I  have  consented  to 
:;this,  not  for  the  reason  that  this  measure  was  of  less  importance  to  the 
^country  than  other  subjects  presented  for  consideration.  In  my  judg¬ 
ement,  and  I  believe  in  the  judgment  of  the  country,  this  subject  is  the 
Imost  important  one  that  has  claimed  the  attention  of  Congress  in  peace¬ 
ful  times  since  the  establishment  of  the  federal  constitution.  My  object 
Mas  been  to  secure  for  it  the  calm  and  just  consideration  of  this  body  ; 
[and,  with  that  view,  I  have  sought  to  sever  and  withdraw  it  from  the 
[agitating  controversies  that  have  disturbed  this  hall  during  a  great  por¬ 
tion  of  the  present  session. 

I  now  ask  of  this  committee,  and  I  earnestly  ask  of  them,  that  they 
will  give  their  calm  and  serious  consideration  to  this  great  question,  for 
| the  purpose  of  justly  and  intelligently  determining  what  action  in  the 
premises  is  demanded  by  the  country,  and  what  duty,  if  any,  is  de¬ 
volved  upon  this  Congress. 

I  regret  that  the  rule  of  this  body  limiting  the  time  of  debate,  renders 
it  impossible  for  me  to  discuss  the  various  and  complicated  questions 
that  relate  to,  and  directly  bear  upon,  this  subject.  I  will  endeavor, 
however,  to  state  distinctly  the  nature  of  the  measure  presented  by  the 
select  committee,  and  then  state  briefly  some  of  the  leading  facts  upon 
which  I  found  the  conclusion  that  the  construction  of  a  railroad  to  the 
Pacific  through  our  own  territories  is  a  present  political  necessity,  and 

of  the  very  first  commercial  and  pecuniary  importance.  I  shall  leave 
to  honorable  gentlemen,  however,  to  deduce  what  they  themselves  conr 
sider  legitimate  conclusions. 

The  select  committee  from  which  this  bill  has  been  reported,  was 
organized  at  an  early  day  in  the  session.  After  much  deliberation,  and 
with  great  care,  this  measure  was  matured  and  presented  to  the  House. 

While  the  committee  adopted  many  of  the  features  of  the  bills  herer- 


2 


tofore  passed,  making  grants  for  railroad  purposes,  it  was  thought,  for 
many  reasons,  advisable  in  this  instance  to  guard  with  additional, 
indeed  with  the  utmost,  care,  the  interests  not  merely  of  the  government, 
but,  what  is  of  more  importance,  the  interests  of  the  people. 

THE  BILL. 

The  bill  reported  makes  no  grant  of  lands,  but  provides  that  grants 
shall  be  made  upon  conditions  named.  In  other  instances,  grants 
have  been  made  directly  to  the  States ;  the  lands  have  been  parted 
with  by  the  federal  government  without  any  guarantee  for  the  execution 
of  the  work.  By  the  terms  of  this  bill,  the  lands  are  not  to  be  parted 
with  until  a  complete  guarantee  is  furnished,  and  then  only  as  the  work 
'progresses.  And  here  it  may  be  proper  to  remark,  that  with  the  road 
itself  the  government  has  nothing  to  do,  either  as  proprietor  or  director. 
The  office  of  the  government  is  simply  to  demand  proper  assurance 
that  the  road  will  be  constructed  within  a  reasonable  time,  and  that  the 
business  of  the  government  will  be  done  by  the  road  upon  the  most' ad¬ 
vantageous  terrtis.  The  work  itself,  its  location,  control  and  manage¬ 
ment,  is  left  to  private  enterprise,  or  to  those  who,  by  advancing  the 
capital,  thereby  entitle  themselves  to  control  its  results. 

The  Secretary  of  War  is  directed  to  advertise  for  sealed  proposals, 
and  to  offer  a  concession  of  alternate  sections,  and  a  transportation 
contract,  in  consideration  of  the  construction  of  the  road  and  the  trans¬ 
portation  of  whatever  may  be  required  for  government  purposes.  The 
proposals  invited  are  to  state — 

1.  The  time  in  which  the  parties  propose  to  complete  the  work,  to¬ 
gether  with  what  extent  thereof  they  propose  to  complete  in  each  year. 

2.  The. time  in  which  such  parties  will  surrender  the  road,  free  of 
cost,  to  the  United  States. 

3.  The  sum,  not  greater  than  six  hundred  dollars  per  mile  per  annum, 
which  the  said  parties  will  receive  and  take  for  the  use  of  the  road,  for 
all  purposes,  by  the  government ;  and, 

4.  The  guarantees  such  parties  will  furnish  for  the  construction  of 
the  road  and  the  performance  of  their  contract  with  the  government. 

With  the  acceptance  of  the  most  favorable  proposal,  and  the  con¬ 
summation  of  the  contract  growing  out  of  such  acceptance,  the  relation 
of  the  government  to  the  road  ceases,  except  as  a  party  stipulating  for 
a  specific  use  of  the  road  when  constructed. 

I  have  stated  that  the  parties  proposing  to  construct  the  road  are  to 
stipulate  for  the  time  when  they  will  surrender  the  same  to  the  govern¬ 
ment.  By  the  eleventh  section  it  is  provided  that  upon  such  surrender, 
“so  much  of  the  line  of  said  road  as  lies  within  any  of  the  States  of  the 
United  States  shall  vest  in  and  become  the  property  of  the  State  or 
States  within  which  the  same  is  located,  subject  to  the  use  of  the  United 
States  for  postal,  military,  and  all  other  government  service,  and/<4ub- 
ject  also  to  such  regulations  as  Congress  may  impose  restricting  the 
charge  for  transportation  thereon ;  and  all  other  States  organised  there¬ 
after  upon  the  line  of  said  road,  shall  acquire  the  same  rights,  subject  to 
the  like  provisions  and  restrictions.” 

By  the  terms  of  this  provision  the  committee  has  sought  to  avoid  all 


3 


questions  of  collision  between  the  federal  government  and  the  State 
sovereignties.  Under  no  circumstances  can  the  federal  government 
have  anything  to  do  with  the  direct  control  and  management  of  tha 
road  within  the  organized  States. 

The  idea  of  the  erection  of  a  vast  landed  monopoly  has  been  sug¬ 
gested  as  an  objection  to  this  enterprise.  To  meet  this  objection,  tha 
bill  provides  that  one-half  of  the  lands  conceded  shall  be  sold  in  five 
years,  and  the  remainder  in  ten  years,  after  the  patents  issue ;  and  in 
case  of  failure  to  make  such  sales,  the  remaining  lands  are  forfeited  to 
the  United  States. 

That  all  objections  that  may  be  urged  against  this  bill  have  been 
met,  I  will  not  assume.  It  is  not  in  human  skill,  in  a  matter  of  this 
sort,  to  obviate  even  all  just  objection.  It  has  been  said,  and  said  truly, 
that  “  there  is  nothing  so  good  but  that  there  is  some  touch  of  evil  in  it.” 
No  bill  can  be  framed  to  accommodate  all  opinions,  or  to  obviate  all 
objections.  The  question  before  the  committee  has  been,  what  plan 
was  most  free  from  just  objection,  and  that  plan  they  have  endeavored 
to  present.  When  a  better  or  more  perfect  plan  shall  be  presented,  for 
one ,  I  shall  stand  ready  to  adopt  it. 

>  CONSTITUTIONAL  POWER. 

# 

I  have  presented  the  general  features  of  the  bill,  and  I  now  call,  the 
attention  of  the  committee  to  two  of  its  provisions ;  and,  first,  the  pro¬ 
vision  providing  a  grant  of  alternate  sections.  I  do  not  propose  to  make 
an  argument  before  this  committee  on  this  point.  The  question  has 
been  already  ably  disoussed  upon  this  floor.  I  cannot  avoid,  however, 
calling  the  attention  of  the  committee  to  the  language  of  the  constitu¬ 
tion,  which  provides  that Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and 
make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting,  the  territory  or  other 
property  belonging  to  the  United  States.”  If  this  grant  of  power  does 
not  vest  in  Congress  the  complete  jus  disponendi  in  the  property  of  the 
United  States  within  the  Territories,  I  would  like  to  learn  from  some  of 
the  astute  expounders  of  constitutional  law  where  they  find  the  limita¬ 
tion  to  the  grant.  The  term  “dispose,”  used  in  this  relation,  is  the 
largest  term  known  to  the  law,  and  the  power  to  “  dispose”  is  the  largest 
power  that  can  be  exercised  over  a  subject.  If  the  government 
should  make  a  grant  without  consideration  to  A,  and  afterwards  make 
a  grant  of  the  same  premises,  for  a  consideration,  to  B,  would  any  one 
undertake  to  maintain  ejectment  upon  the  last  grant,  against  the  first 
grantees.  Whatever  may  be  thought  upon  the  subject  here,  the  country 
has  not  yet  produced  a  lawyer  bold  enough  to  affirm  the  proposition  in 
any  of  the  courts  of  the  Union.  I  can  understand  that  there  is  a  just 
distinction  between  what  Congress  has  the  constitutional  power  to  do, 
and  what  Congress  may  rightfully  do.  The  powers  of  Congress,  how¬ 
ever  broad,  should  be  only  exercised  for  legitimate  and  constitutional 
ends ;  beyond  that  limit  we  do  not  invoke  the  action  of  Congress  in  the 
present  instance.  I  will  not  say  anything  further  upon  this  point,  ex¬ 
cept  refer  to  one  high  authority — the  great  head  and  front  of  those  who 
bold  to  a  strict  construction  of  the  federal  constitution — and  one  whom, 


4 


as  a  follower  of  the  same  school,  I  recognise  as  high  authority.  In 
conversing  not  long  since  with  one  of  my  honorable  friends  from  Vir¬ 
ginia,  he  insisted  that  both  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Madison  were  latitu- 
dinarian  in  their  views  of  the  constitution.  I  inquired  of  him  who  was 
the  exponent  of  his  school.  “Mr.  Calhoun,”  was  his  very  prompt 
reply.  I  quote  Mr.  Calhoun  on  the  gentleman,  and  advise  him  that 
upon  this  subject  Mr.  Calhoun  has  been  full  and  explicit. 

At  the  session  of  1845-’46,  Mr.  Calhoun,  as  chairman  of  a  select 
committee,  to  whom  was  referred  a  memorial  from  the  Memphis  con¬ 
vention,  made  an  elaborate  report  to  th$  Senate,  from  which  I  read — 

“Your  committee  will  next  proceed  to  consider  that  portion  of  the 
memorial  which  relates  to  the  communication  by  railroad  between  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  southern  Atlantic  States.  They  re¬ 
gard  works  of  the  kind  as  belonging  to  internal  improvements,  (that  is, 
improvements  within  the  body  of  the  States,)  and  as  such,  are,  in  their 
opinion,  not  embraced  in  the  power  to  regulate  commerce.  But  they 
are,  nevertheless,  of  opinion  that  where  such  roads  or  other  works  of 
internal  improvement  may  pass  through  public  lands,  the  United  States 
may  contribute  to  their  construction  in  their  character  of  proprietors, 
to  the  extent  that  they  may  be  enhanced  in  price  thereby.  This  has 
usually  been  done  by  ceding  alternate  sections  on  the  projected  line  of 
such  works ;  and  it  is  believed  that  no  mode  of  contributing,  more  fair 
or  better  calculated  to  guard  against  abuses,  can  be  devised.  That 
Congress  has  a  right  to  make  such  contributions,  where  there  is  reason¬ 
able  ground  to  believe  that  the  public  lands  will  be  enhanced  in  pro¬ 
portion,  under  its  right  to  dispose  of  ‘the  territory  and  other  public 
property  of  the  United  States,’  your  committee  cannot  doubt.  In 
making  this  assertion,  they  hold  to  the  rule  of  strict  construction, 
and  that  this  power,  like  all  the  other  powers,  of  the  government,  is  a 
trust  power,  and,  as  such,  is  strictly  limited  by  the  nature  and  object 
of  the  trust.  In  this  -case,  the  rule  requires  that  the  lands  and  other 
public  property  of  the  United  States  should  be  disposed  of  to  the  best 
advantage;  and  where  that  can  be  done  by  contributing  a  portion  to 
works  which  would  make  the  residue  equally  or  more  valuable  than 
the  whole  would  be  without  it,  as  is  supposed,  they  hold  it  would  be 
strictly  within  the  rule.  Your  committee  go  further.  They  are  of  the 
opinion,  not  only  that  Congress  has  the  right  to  contribute  to  the  extent 
stated,  in  such  cases,  but  that  it  is  in  duty  bound  to  do  so,  as  the  rep¬ 
resentative  of  a  part  of  the  proprietors  of  the  land  to  be  benefited.  It 
would  be  neither  just  nor  fair  for  it  to  stand  by  and  realize  the  advan¬ 
tage  they  would  derive  from  this  work,  without  contributing  a  due  pro¬ 
portion  towards  its  construction.  It  would  be  still  less  justifiable  to¬ 
re  fuse  to  contribute,  if  its  effect  would  be  to  defeat  a  work,  the  con¬ 
struction  of  which,  while  it  would  enhance  the  value  of  the  land  be¬ 
longing  to  the  public,  and  that  of  individual  proprietors,  would  promote 
the  prosperity  of  the  country  generally.” 

No  argument  can  be  put  in  stronger  terms  than  this.  No  authority 
can  be  presented  on  this  subject,  giving  as  high  a  sanction ;  and  Against 
the  doctrine,  I  believe  no  name  can  be  produced  that  has  yet  won 
either  juridical  or  legislative  fame. 


5 

POLICY  OF  THE  MEASURE. 

I  might  here  enter  into  a  discussion  of  the  policy  of  these  grants.  I 
might  cite  the  grant  which  secured  the  construction  of  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  canal,  by  which  the  waters  of  the  northern  lakes  were  united 
with  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi.  That  work  has  furnished  whole 
States  with  a  profitable  market ;  on  its  banks  numerous  cities  have 
sprung  up ;  and  at  its  northern  terminus  now  stands  what  is  already 
the  queen  city  of  the  West.  It  would  be  a  bold  man  who  would  now 
assert  that  both  government  and  people  had  not  profited  largely  by  the 
grant  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  this  work;  and  what  has  proved  true 
in  relation  to  this  gram,  has  also  proved  true  in  relation  to  the  subse¬ 
quent  grants  made  by  the  government  for  similar  purposes. 

The  grants  proposed  by  this  bill  lie  mostly  in  what  is  now  the  inac¬ 
cessible  country  of  the  interior.  Not  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  land 
along  the  route  is  at  all  available  to  the  government,  and  cannot  be  until 
some  such  work  as  is  proposed  is  constructed.  New  Mexico,  Utah,  and 
all  the  country  lying  about  the  central  mountains,  is  now,  and  must 
continue  to  be,  valueless — must  be  a  burden  and  a  barrier,  until  it  is 
opened  up  to  communication  and  to  commerce.  Push  a  railroad  through 
that  country,  and  the  hand  of  labor  will  conquer  the  inhospitable  wil¬ 
derness  ;  and  instead  ol  lonely  mountains  and  plains,  deserted  by  all 
but  a  few  wandering  savage  tribes,  there  will  be  flocks,  and  herds,  and 
smiling  farms.  Towns,  and  cities,  and  States  will  spring  up  ;  and  this 
confederacy  will  stand,  not  severed  by  the  deserted  desert  land,  but 
united  by  living  brotherhoods — communities  of  men. 

GOVERNMENT  CONTRACT. 

There  is  another  feature  of  the  bill  to  which  I  propose  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  committee.  -Tt  is  the  provision  for  a  contract  with  the 
government  for  the  use  of  the  road  for  all  government  purposes. 

The  bill  fixes  a  maximum  of  six  hundred  dollars  per  mile  per  an¬ 
num  for  this  service.  It  is  not  proposed  that  the  government  shall  pay 
this  amount,  but  that  it  will  pay  the  amount,  not  greater  than  the  one 
named,  which  parties  will  contract  to  receive  for  the  service.  If  the 
maximum  should  be  paid,  it  would  still  be  a  most  economical  contract 
for  the  government. 

The  government  is  now  paying  for  semi-monthly  mail  service  be¬ 
tween  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  about  $1,000,000 ;  but  a  short  time 
since,  my  friend  from  Tennessee  (Mr.  Churchwell)  introduced  a  bill 
providing  another  semi-monthly  mail  service,  and  for  the  payment  of 
$2,400,000  per  annum  in  the  event  the  trip  could  be  made  in  ten  days. 
He  thought  his  proposition  a  reasonable  one.  This  bill  will  secure  a  daily 
sei  vice,  and  a  transit  in  seven  days.  Upon  a  careful  examination,  I  esti¬ 
mate  the  cost  of  military  transportation  to  New  Mexico  and  the  Pacific  at 
$1,7-39,014.  The  cost  to  the  government  of  keeping  up  its  whole  naval 
communication  with  the  Pacific  by  Cape  Horn  and  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  of  outfitting,  discharging,  and  supplying  everything  required  for 
that  service,  and  the  loss  of  service  to  the  government  during  these 


long  voyages,  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  with  any  accuracy,  but  I  as¬ 
sume  that  it  is  not  less  than  $1,000,000  per  annum. 

The  government  now,  in  a  time  of  peace,  for  inferior  and  inadequate 
service,  is  paying  nearly  the  sum  of  $4,000,000  per  annum  for  the  same 
service  which  this  bill  proposes  to  secure  to  the  government  at  a  cost 
of  not  more  than  $1,200,000. 

I  wish  it  distinctly  understood  that  the  contract  proposed  by  the  bill 
is  an  economical  one  for  the  government ;  that  it  will  effect  an  immedi¬ 
ate  and  large  saving  to  the  federal  treasury,  to  say  nothing  of  its  econ¬ 
omy  in  the  event  of  war  or  other  disturbance  requiring  the  strong  arm 
of  federal  power  on  the  Pacific. 

I  will  say  nothing  further  now  of  the  provisions  or  merits  of  the  bill 
under  consideration,  but  ask  your  attention  to  the  political,  social,  and 
commercial  considerations  which  give  importance  to  this  measure,  and 
render  the  work  proposed  a  present  national  necessity. 

In  entering  upon  this  portion  of  my  subject,  I  may  be  permitted  to 
say  something  about  the  State  which  I  have  the  honor  ill  part  to  rep¬ 
resent. 

The  geographical  position  of  California  is,  of  course,  well  understood. 
It  is  known  to  occupy  the  utmost  confines  of  western  civilization.  It 
is  known  to  be  a  country  traversed  by  mountains  rich  with  gold,  and 
by  valleys  of  remarkable  fertility.  It  is  known  that  among  those  mount¬ 
ains  and  valleys  has  sprung  up,  as  it  were  in  a  day,  as  if  spell-created, 
a  powerful  State.  These  things,  as  isolated  facts,  are  known ;  they 
•have  forced  themselves  on  the  recognition  of  the  country  ;  yet,  while 
these  general  facts  are  known,  I  cannot  avoid  the  consciousness  that  to 
most  persons  on  this  side  of  the  mountains,  to  most  persons  within 
this  hall,  California  is  substantially  a  misunderstood  if  not  an  unknown 
land. 

I  do  not  propose  to  make  this  committee  familiar  with  either  the 
constituency  or  the  interests  I  represent.  I  shall  content  myself  with 
the  exhibition  of  a  few  facts  bearing  directly  upon  the  subject  now  un¬ 
der  consideration. 


CALIFORNIA. 

The  State  of  California  has  now  a  population  of  300,000  persons ; 
and  from  the  fact  that  they  are  almost  exclusively  effective  men,  they 
may  be  considered  fully  equal  to  any  other  population  of  700,000  in 
capacity,  either  for  labor  or  enterprise. 

The  city  of  San  Francisco  has  a  population  of  from  50,000  to  75,000 
persons,  and  is  already  second  only  to  New  York  in  point  ol  commer¬ 
cial  importance,  while  in  the  amount  of  her  tonnage  she  is  competing 
with  the  second  city  in  the  Union. 

It  has  bfeen  said  that  “  money  is  power.”  The  gold  of  California 
has  been  the  master-power  that  by  its  force  has  seemed  to  realize  the 
fabled  birth  of  the  ancient  Tyre,  said  to  have  sprung  perfect,  with  pal¬ 
ace  and  temple  and  busy  mart,  from  the  foam  of  “  the  great  sea.” 
The  gold  fields  of  California  have  proved  rich  beyond  any  known  par¬ 
allel.  Within  the  last  five  years  they  have  produced  over  $300,000,000. 


7 

Within  the  past  year  over  $80,000,000  in  treasure,  the  products  of  our 
own  rivers  and  mountains,  have  passed  out  of  our  golden  gate.  If  I 
remember  right,  during  the  great  currency  controversy,  about  1835  and 
1836,  the  estimated  amount  of  the  entire  specie  basis  of  the  currency 
of  the  United  States  was  $80,000,000.  The  State  of  California  con¬ 
tributes  annually  to  the  currency  of  the  country  an  amount  equal  to  the  entire 
real  currency  of  the  whole  Union  eighteen  years  ago. 

In  1833,  the  entire  exports  of  the  United  States,  of  her  own  domestic 
products,  were  but  $69,000,000.  Out  of  the  golden  gate  we  have  exported, 
within  the  past  year ,  more  of  the  domestic  products  of  California  than  was  ex¬ 
ported  by  the  whole  Union  twenty  years  ago.  As  late  as  1S45  we  exported, 
of  our  domestic  products,  but  $98,000,000,  including  all  articles  of 
exportation — cotton,  tobacco,  sugar,  and  the  fabrics  of  our  manufacto¬ 
ries.  California  exports  nearly  as  much  as  the  whole  Union  did  eight 
years  ago,  just  before  our  gold  had  entered  into,  stimulated,  and  swelled 
our  commerce. 

Again,  during  the  year  1853,  there  was  imported  into  ban  r  ran- 
cisco,  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  423,230  tons  of  merchandise,  for  its 
own  and  its  dependent  markets ;  amounting  in  value  to  not  less  than 
$100,000,000.  It  must  be  understood  that  the  market  of  ban  Fran¬ 
cisco  is  not  limited  by  the  State  of  California.  It  embraces  the  entire 
coast  from  Acapulco  to  the  Russian  possessions,  and  all  the  islands  that 
possess  a  commerce  as  far  as  the  coasts  of  Asia.  The  remark  I  have 
now  to  make  is,  that  the  market  of  San  Francisco  is  as  large  a  market  for 
the  Atlantic  coast  as  the  whole  foreign  market  of  the  United  States  eight 

years  ago.  .  , 

While  upon  this  subject,  I  may  as  well  state  a  fact  incident  to  the 
commerce  of  California,  which  may  serve  somewhat  to  disabuse  gen¬ 
tlemen  upon  this  floor  of  the  impression  that  California  is  a  burden 
upon  the  federal  treasury.  F  or  the  last  four  years  the  customs  col¬ 
lected  at  San  Francisco  have  averaged  $2,500,000 ;  during  the  year 
1851,  over  $3,200,000  was  paid  for  customs  at  that  port.  These 
amounts  have  been  principally  paid  upon  direct  importations  from 
abroad,  while  more  than,  two-thirds  of  our  foreign  merchandise  pays 
duty  in  the  Atlantic  cities ;  so  that  the  people  of  the  State  of  California 
have  in  fact  paid  annually  into  the  federal  treasury  over  $7,000,000. 
While  the  people  of  the  Atlantic  States  pay  two  dollars  per  capita  per 
annum  into  the  federal  treasury,  the  people  of  California  pay  over  twenty 
dollars.  As  liberal  as  the  federal  government  has  been  to  California, 
it  should  be  remembered,  -that  while  in  her  infancy,  just  sprung  out  of 
chaos,  with  scarce  her  wings  adjusted,  she  has  returned  more  than  she 
ever  received  from  the  parental  bounty ;  besides  having  poured  out  upon 
all  these  States  treasures  of  wealth  that  have  given  an  impulse  and  a 
support  to  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures,  felt  everywhere, 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Northern  lakes. 

While  the  mineral  wealth  of  California  has  heretofore  constituted  its 
most  marked  feature,  it  must  not  be  understood  that  the  treasures  of 
the  mine  constitute  its  only  claim  to  consideration.  No  part  of  the 
Union,  not  even  the  rich  bottoms  of  the  Mississippi,  equals  in  fertility  the 
valleys  of  that  State.  I  know  of  no  other  soil  that  yields  such  rich 


8 


returns  to  the  labors  of  the  husbandman.  And  this  soil  is  not  confined, 
as  many  have  supposed,  to  a  few  scattered  valleys,  but  constitutes  a 
large  proportion  of  the  superficial  area  of  the  entire  country.  With  a 
fertile  soil,  there  is  a  uniform,  invigorating,  and  salubrious  climate — a 
better  climate  than  that  in  which  were  bred  the  men  of  old  Rome — a 
better  climate  than  that  of  Italy.  I  expect,  sir,  to  be  charged  with  ex¬ 
aggeration  ;  but  I  state  the  fact. 

There  is  still  another  feature  which  I  do  not  wish  to  overlook.  I 
speak  of  the  great  bay  of  San  Francisco. 

Far-seeing  and  intelligent  men  for  the  past  century  have  there  lo¬ 
cated  the  point  where  was  to  grow  up  a  great  city,  which  would  hold 
the  keys  of  the  commerce  of  the  Pacific,  and  command  the  rich  com¬ 
merce  not  only  of  that  great  ocean,  but  of  the  ancient  East.  In  five 
short  years  the  foundations  of  that  city  have  been  laid,  and  already  ves¬ 
sels  freighted  to  and  from  her  wharves  are  to  be  found  upon  every  sea, 
and  in  almost  every  port  of  the  civilized  world. 

I  have  made  these  statements — presented  these  facts ;  I  have  asked 
for  them  the  attention  of  this  committee;  and  I  now  ask  whether  Cali¬ 
fornia,  her  interests  and  necessities,  may  not  justly  demand  the  atten¬ 
tive  consideration  of  this  body,  and  of  all  those  who  hold  the  powers  of 
the  government  in  their  hands. 

POLITICAL  NECESSITIES. 

And  now,  Mr.  Chairman,  what  is  the  position  and  what  are  the  ne¬ 
cessities  of  California? 

From  this  seat  of  the  federal  government  California  is  distant  3,000 
miles  ;  deserts  and  hostile  tribes  intervene.  There  is  no  way  through 
that  intermediate  country  except  for  parties  who  go  armed  for  war.  For 
all  purposes  of  commerce  and  government  there  is  noway;  there  is 
none  even  for  an  army  in  time  of  war.  No  man  of  military  skill  would 
undertake  to  carry  a  considerable  army  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pa¬ 
cific  by  land.  The  sea,  the  fearful,  treacherous  sea,  must  be  relied 
upon ;  the  dangers  of  the  tempest  and  the  pestilence  must  be  encoun¬ 
tered  ;  and  then  a  transit  must  be  made  through  a  foreign  country,  through 
a  people  that  are  not  our  own  people,  and  who  impose  upon  us  every 
species  of  exaction  and  outrage. 

Of  the  perils  of  the  sea  we  have  had  a  recent  instance  in  the  terrible 
fate  of  the  victims  storm-swept  from  the  deck  of  the  San  Francisco. 
From  the  pestilent  atmosphere  encountered  in  crossing  the  continent 
within  the  topics,  but  few  entirely  escape;  and  I  hazard  no  departure 
from  truth  in  saying  that  that  poison-charged  atmosphere  has  destroyed 
a  greater  number  of  the  lives  of  our  people  than  were  sacrificed  on  the 
battle-fields  of  Mexico.  Is  it  known  to  this  committee,  or  if  known,  is 
the  fact  a  ppreciated,  that  we  here  are  further  from  California,  that  more 
obstacles  intervene,  than  intervene  between  us  and  where  war  now 
rages  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube? — that  we  could  more  readily  place 
an  army  upon  the  banks  of  the  old  Euphrates  than  upon  the  shores  of 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco?  Such  is  the  fact.  California  is  a  familiar 
name ;  but  it  is  a  distant  land,  sir. 


9 


I  ask  of  your  sir,  I  ask  of  this  House,  and  I  ask  of  the  country, 
whether,  with  such  obstacles  to  communication,  it  is  expected  that  the 
government  at  Washington  can  fulfil  its  offices  on  the  coast  of  the  Pa¬ 
cific?  The  arm  of  the  federal  government  is  not  strong  enough — the 
eye  of  the  federal  government  is  not  far-seeing  enough,  these  obstacles 
continuing,  to  govern  California. 

Gentlemen  may  ask  me,  is  not  California  governed?  I  will  say,  and 
say  truthfully,  we  have  not  had,  and  we  have  not  now,  anything  more" 
than  the  mere  shadow  of  a  government  under  the  federal  constitution. 
But  for  the  fact  that  we  are  an  American  people,  and  have  learned  how 
to  govern  ourselves,  and  but  for  the  vital  efficiency  of  our  system  of 
sovereign  States — each  State  vital  in  itself — we  would  now  be  to  this 
Union  what  the  State  of  Sonora  is  to  the  republic  of  Mexico. 

And  if  this  evil  continues,  I  suppose  we  will  continue  to  govern  our¬ 
selves.  We  are  a  loyal  people,  we  people  of  California;  we  will  con¬ 
tinue  to  pay  our  millions  of  tribute,  for  the  sake  of  our  early  faith,  for 
the  sake  of  the  household  gods  that  yet  look  down  upon  the  fires  of  our 
early  homes ;  and  we  love  our  eagle  and  our  starred  banner.  And 
then  it  is  true,  that  the  further  one  wanders  from  his  own  home  and 
friends,  the  more  his  heart  warms  to  them;  and  this  is  so  with  us,  and 
therefore  we  will  continue  to  pay  tribute ;  and,  instead  of  protection 
and  government,  we  will  take  a  few  appropriations  for  custom¬ 
houses  and  federal  officers,  the  machinery  of  taxation  and  not  of  gov¬ 
ernment. 

I  repeat,  we  have  not  the  benefits  of  the  federal  government  in  the 
State  of  California.  We  have  had  upon  our  mountain  borders  numer¬ 
ous  tribes  of  hostile  Indians.  Against  their  hostilities  the  government 
was  bound  to  protect  us ;  yet  there  has  not  been  an  effective  military 
force  in  our  State  sufficient  to  make  head  against  a  single  tribe.  The 
consequence  has  been  the  sacrifice  of  the  lives  of  hundreds  of  our  citi¬ 
zens,  and  the  State  has  been  compelled  to  maintain  her  own  frontier  at 
an  expense  of  nearly  a  million  of  dollars.  This  much  as  to  past  pro¬ 
tection  ;  and  now  as  to  the  future.  Our  present  position  is  well  under¬ 
stood  in  this  House.  Whether  we  consider  our  relations  to  belligerent 
Europe,  or  our  relations  to  the  government  of  Spain,  it  is  clear  that  we 
cannot  contract  for  a  single  month  of  peace.  In  case  of  conflict,  where 
would  a  hostile  power  strike  us?  Strike  us  where  we  could  be  struck 
most  certainly,  and  where  we  could  be  struck  most  securely.  And  I 
state  here,  that  any  second-rate  power  could  effectually  cut  off  the  com¬ 
merce,  destroy  the  cities,  and  for  a  time  crush  the  rising  greatness,  of 
our  whole  Pacific  coast.  This  might  be  done  before  the  arm  of  this 
government  could  be  felt  on  that  coast,  were  it  ever  so  potential.  Would 
England  thus  expose  her  Indies  to  become  the  prey  of  an  enemy?  Cali¬ 
fornia  is  the  Indies  of  these  Atlantic  States. 

But  suppose  this  government  could  furnish  all  the  protection  re¬ 
quired.  To  maintain  and  defend  that  coast  in  time  of  war  for  a  single 
year  would  cost  this  government  $50,000,000.  This  statement  is  not 
made  inconsiderately  ;  it  is  no  exaggeration.  It  would  cost  this  gov¬ 
ernment  *$50,000,000  to  defend  that  coast  a  single  year.  Supplies, 
troops,  arms,  everything,  must  make  a  voyage  of  17,000  miles. 

The  fact  is,  it  cannot  be  disguised;  it  must  be  recognised  that  with 


10 


the  present  means  of  communication,  the  federal  government  cannot 
furnish  federal  protection  to  California. 

What  I  have  said  about  the  want  of  the  military  arm  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  in  California  is  almost  equally  applicable  to  every  one  of  its  de¬ 
partments.  There  is  no  proper  administration  of  the  public  laws  of  the 
United  States  in.  California,  for  causes  which,  for  want  of  time,  I  will 
not  undertake  to  specify;  but  the  evil  is  primarily  attributable  to  the 
want  of  facilities  for  communication  with  the  government  at  Wash¬ 
ington. 

The  furnishing  of  postal  facilities  has  always  been  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  beneficial  offices  of  the  government.  Although  the  govern¬ 
ment  is  at  large  expense,  yet  we  have  but  little  more  than  the  name  of 
postal  facilities  in  California.  The  mail  business  of  California  is  mostly 
done  by  private  expresses,  at  a  cost  five  and  ten  times  as  great  as  that 
fixed  by  law.  The  mails  fail  to  answer  the  necessities  of  the  country, 
because  those  necessities  are  not  understood  by  the  head  of  the  Post 
Office  Department  at  Washington. 

Our  public  lands,  those  demanded  now  for  present  settlement,  are 
unsurveyed,  and  under  the  system  adopted  by  the  department 
here  they  will  not  be  surveyed  for  ten  years  to  come.  For  ten  years 
our  people  will  have  to  wait  before  they  can  secure  their  own  proper 
homes.  This,  sir,  is  an  age  in  California.  The  difficulty  again  is,  our 
necessities  are  not  understood. 

There  is  one,  and  but  one,  office  of  the  government  well  understood 
and  well  performed.  We  have  excellent  custom-house  officers.  They 
will  permit  no  smuggling.  They  will  faithfully  see  that  every  cent 
of  federal  impost  is  paid  into  the  federal  treasury. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  these  are  evils  against  most  of  which  we 
cannot  legislate.  They  grow  out  of  the  administration,  rather  than  out 
of  the  constitution  of  laws.  Yet  some  of  them  are  evils  of  legislation. 
How  are  these  evils  to  be  avoided  ? 

With  the  present  obstacles  intervening  between  the  Atlantic  States 
and  the  pacific,  how  can  the  interests  and  necessities  of  the  Pacific  be 
understood  or  appreciated  by  the  body  of  Representatives  on  this  floor? 
The  action  of  this  body  must  depend  upon  the  faith  of  representatives 
in  the  local  representation ;  the  degree  of  that  faith  must  be  subject  to 
a  thousand  accidents  of  proclivity  and  opinion,  in  the  confusion  of 
which  we  can  hardly  hope  for  anything  like  complete  legislation. 

I  have  made  these  remarks  principally  as  the  preliminary  to  the 
statement  of  the  proposition,  or  rather  the  conclusion,  that  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  railroad  communication  across  this  continent  is  a  political 
necessity,  and  that  without  it  this  government  will  continue  to  be 
utterly  unable  to  perform  the  offices  imposed  by  the  federal  constitution. 

If  I  had  time,  I  would  discuss  this  proposition  more  in  detail.  I  •will 
remark,  however,  here,  that  this  attempt  at  government  in  California 
costs  the  federal  treasury  nearly  $4,000,000  per  annum  for  the  single 
item  of  transportation,  including  the  military,  naval,  and  postal  ser¬ 
vice — a  sum  equal  to  the  interest  of  the  entire  cost  of  a  complete  double¬ 
track  railroad  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific.  In  case  of  war,  it 
would  cost  the  government  each  year  an  amount  sufficient  to  construct 
a  single  track.  If  no  war  transpires,  in  the  same  time  it  would  take 


11 


to  build  the  road,  the  government  will,  if  it  undertakes  to  fortify  the 
coast,  expend  more  money  on  those  fortifications  than  the  road  would 
cost ;  and  one  railroad  would  be  worth  more  for  the  defence  of  that 
coast  than  all  the  fortifications  that  could  be  constructed  from  the  sea 
of  Cortez  to  the  straits  of  Fuca. 

I  have  but  glanced  at  some  of  the  considerations  that  make  this  en¬ 
terprise  a  political  necessity.  I  will  now  call  your  attention  to  its  com¬ 
mercial  importance.  In  doing  this,  I  shall  not  deal  in  magnificent  pic¬ 
tures  of  results  in  perspective,  but  with  present  facts. 

COMMERCIAL  AND  ECONOMICAL  CONSIDERATIONS. 

And  first,  I  affirm,  and  will  undertake  to  show,  that  the  want  of  a 
railroad  to  the  Pacific  operates  a  direct  loss  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  in  time,  property,  and  money,  each  year,  equal  to  the  annual 
expenses  of  the  federal  government — a  loss  that  in  two  years  would  be 
more  than  equal  to  the  entire  cost  of  a  complete  railroad  to  the  Pacific. 

I  will  endeavor  to  give  the  facts  and  figures.  During  the  year  1853 
there  arrived  in  the  port  of  San  Francisco  from  the  Atlantic  ports  443 
vessels,  with  423,230  tons  of  merchandise ;  the  merchandise  having  a 
value,  as  I  have  stated,  of  not  less  than  $100,000,000.  Most  of  these 
freights  arrived  by  clipper  ships,  and  the  average  cost  of  freight  was 
not  less  than  $30  per  ton.  The  average  time  consumed  was  about 
five  months ;  during  this  time  the  merchandise  was  dead  capital,  and 
properly  chargeable  with  interest,  which  call  5  per  cent.  It  is  well 
understood  that  the  injury  and  loss  not  covered  by  insurance  upon 
almost  every  article  of  merchandise  that  in  the  course  of  a  long  voy¬ 
age  has  to  pass  twice  through  the  tropics,  amounts  to  a  very  consider¬ 
able  per  cent,  on  its  value.  Flour,  pork,  beef,  sugar,  molasses,  cotton 
and  woolen  fabrics,  clothing,  and  indeed  almost  all  articles  of  merchan¬ 
dise,  from  a  variety  of  causes  incident  to  the  voyage,  arrive  in  San 
Francisco  either  less  in  quantity  or  injured  in  quality.  This  loss  has 
been  averaged  by  our  most  intelligent  merchants  at  7  per  cent,  on  the 
value  of  importations. 

These  charges  and  losses  in  the  shipment  of  merchandise  by  the 
way  of  Cape  Horn  may  be  thus  stated  : 


Insurance  on  $100,000,000  merchandise,  at  4  per  cent  $4,000,000 

Interest  on  $100,000,000,  at  5  per  cent .  5,000,000 

Losses  on  $100,000,000  merchandise  (not  covered  by 

insurance) .  7,000,000 

Freight  on  423,230  tons,  at  $30 .  12,696,900 


Making  an  aggregate  of. .  28,696,900 


It  is  estimated,  and  fairly  estimated,  that  during  the  last  year 
110,000  passenger  transits  were  made  to  and  fro  between  the  Atlantic 
and  Western  States  and  the  Pacific  coast,  including  travellers  by  sea 
and  land.  The  average  cost  to  each  has  not  been  less  fhan  $250,  and 
the  average  of  time  consumed  not  less  than  40  days  ;  and  if  the  value  of 
time  consumed  is  estimated  at  $2  per  day,  the  following  statement  may 
be  made : 


12 


Cost  of  transit  for  110,000  passengers,  at  $250  each.  . . .  $27,500,000 


Time,  40  days  each,  of  110,000,  at  $2  per  day .  8,800,000 

Making  an  aggregate  of. .  36,300,000 


There  is,  besides  what  has  been  stated,  the  Isthmus  transportation 
of  $60,000,000  of  gold-dust,  and  not  less  than  2,500  tons  of  other 
freight.  Gold-dust  pays  2  per  cent,  freight  and  1  per  cent,  insurance, 
and  the  cost  of  other  freights  by  the  Isthmus  route  is  $500  per  ton; 


making — 

Freight  on  $60,000,000  of  gold-dust,  at  2  percent. . $1,200,000 

Insurance  1  per  cent . - .  600,000 

Freight  on  2,500  tons  besides  gold-dust,  at  $500 .  1,250,000 


Making  an  aggregate  of. .  3,050,000 


There  still  remains  the  amount  paid  by  the  federal  government  for 
the  transportation  of  its  mails,  military  and  naval  stores,  officers  and 
troops,  which  I  have  already  estimated  at  $3,739,000. 


If  these  aggregates  be  taken  together,  we  have  : 

Charges  and  loss  on  merchandise  by  Cape  Horn _ _ _  $27,696,900 

Charges  and  time  of  passenger  transit .  36,300,000 

Isthmus  freights . 3,050,000 

Government  transportation .  3,739,000 


In  all . . .  70,7S5,900 


This  enormous  amount  is  the  tax  now  paid  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States  for  transportation  and  travel  between  the  Atlantic  and 
the  Pacific ;  and  it  is  to  be  considered,  sir,  that  this  is  not  a  burden 
assessed  alone  upon  the  people  of  California.  It  is  a  burden  upon  the 
people,  and  a  tax  upon  the  industry  and  enterprise  of  the  people  of 
every  State,  and  upon  all  classes  of  our  citizens. 

I  will  now  compare  the  amount  thus  charged  upon  the  countiy 
with  the  amount  of  charge  and  loss  in  doing  the  same  business  and 
transporting  the  same  number  of  passengers  by  railroad. 

A  railroad  3,000  miles  in  length  would  connect  any  one  of  the  At¬ 
lantic  cities  with  San  Francisco.  I  will  first  inquire  into  the  cost  of 
carrying  freight  per  ton  over  this  line. 

A  single  engine  will  draw  100  tons  in  addition  to  the  cars.  In  Hunt’s 
Merchants’  Magazine  of  July  last  are  tables  taken  from  the  American 
Railway  Times,  said  to  be  prepared  by  one  of  the  most  experienced 
and  intelligent  managers,  and  from  those  tables  it  appears  that  the 
cost  of  running  a  full  train  of  cars  is  but  33  cents  per  mile,  or  $990  for 
3,000  miles,  \yhich  makes  the  entire  cost  of  transportation  to  the  pro¬ 
prietors  of  a  road  but  $9  90  per  ton  from  the  Atlantic  to  San  Fran¬ 
cisco.  The  same  article  states  that  the  Reading  road  carries  coal  100 
miles  for  $1  per  ton,  although  the  cars  go  back  empty,  and  that  the 
cost  of  the  round  trip  of  200  miles  is  but  38  cents  per  ton.  It  also 
states  that  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  road  carries  coal  200  miles  at  $2 
per  ton.  I  am  informed  that,  as  a  general  rule,  when  the  income  of  a 


13 

road  is  100  per  cent,  greater  than  the  running  expenses,  it  is  a  paving 
road.  I  also  understand  that  the  expenses  of  a  road  are  diminished  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  its  business  and  the  length  of  its  line.  If 
this  be  so,  merchandise  can  be  transported  from  the  Atlantic  to  San 
Francisco  at  $19  80  per  ton,  a  sum  much  less  than  what  is  now  charged 
for  Ocean  transportation.  But,  assuming  the  charge  upon  this  long  and 
continuous  line  the  same  now  charged  on  the  Reading  and  the  Balti¬ 
more  and  Ohio  roads,  which  is  over  200  per  cent,  on  the  running  cost 
ol  the  road,  I  will  proceed  to  state  the  charges  and  loss  upon  the 
amount  of  business  between  the  termini. 

There  will  be  no  damage  to  merchandise  by  exposure  or  climate, 
and  insurance  will  be  but  merely  nominal,  the  time  of  transit  need 
not  be  more  than  ten  days.  Passengers  would  not  pay  more  than  $50 
.  each,  on  an  average,  departing  from  their  various  points.  Gold  dust 
would  go  as  freight,  with  an  additional  charge  for  its  protection,  and 
the  amount  of  that  would  be  about  125  tons  per  annum.  Assume  the 
cost  of  that  item  at  $300  per  ton,  and  the  statement  can  then  be  made 
as  follows  i 

Cost  of  transportation  of  merchandise,  425,730  tons,  at  $30,  $1 2,771  900 
Interest  10  days  on  merchandise,  £  per  ct,  on  $100,000,000  333,000 

12o  tons  gold  dust,  at  $300  per  ton .  -17 

110,000’  passengers,  at  $50  each. . . "**’;'!}*/:  5  500  000 

10  days  time  of  passengers,  at  $2  per  diem.  . .  2  200  000 

Government  transportation,  2,000  miles,  at  $600  per  mile’  l^OO^OOO 

Making  an  aggregate  of. .  22,042,400 

f,  r°n,Tld  be  thuS  receiving  $19,471,900  for  passengers  and 
fre^hts— full  20  per  cent,  on  its  cost,  and  more  than  sufficient  to  support 
it  with  present  trade  and  travel,  and,  at  the  same  time,  making  a  clear 
saving  to  the  country  of  forty-eight  million  seven  hundred  and 
F°uuY  THREE  TH0USAND  FIVE  HUNDRED  dollars. 

extravagant>*  b^t,  extravagant  as  they  may 
appear,  they  fall  within  the  truth.  If  they  are  questioned,  I  ask  who¬ 
ever  questions  to  correct  them. 

Now,  sir,  f  wish  it  understood  by  this  committee,  and  I  wish  it  un- 
derstood  by  the  country,  that  the  want  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific  is  a 
the,  country  of  a  sum  sufficient  to  support  the  whole  machinery  of 
the  fedeial  government— a  sum  sufficient  in  two  years  to  build  the  best 

San  fWh  railr°ad  la  the  world  all  the  way  from  the  Mississippi  to  , 
nSi  ,  An<V  WISn  lt.iUrther  understood,  that,  apart  from  the 
ofnoffilaTP  °f  0Ur  PrClfic  P°ssessi°ns ;  apart  from  all  questions 

°  riff1  "fess,t/i  apart  from  the  illimitable  promises  of  the  future, 

the  coumrv  Present  com™ercial  and  economical  interests  of 

the  country  demand  the  construction  of  the  road.  I  will  go  further— I 

'feel  that  I  am  justified  in  going  further,  and  asserting  thatft  is  not  only 
demanded  by  th e  interests,  but  it  is  demanded  by  the  people  of  the  coum 
_y.  1  will  even  take  issue  with  some  of  my  honorable  friends  from 

Virgin  a  and  insist  that  it  is  demanded  by  their  people.  Upon  this 
mbject  the  country  has  already  been  aroused;  concerning  its  merits 
ey  ave  already  become  intelligent ;  from  every  cabin  of  the  West, 


14 


from  every  workshop  in  the  North,  from  every  precinct  and  village  in 
the  South,  the  deliberations  of  this  body  upon  this  subject  are  being 
watched — watched  earnestly ;  and  I  assure  you,  sir,  that  if  we  fail  or 
refuse  to  act  riow,  there  will  be  those  placed  in  our  stead  more  prompt 
and  ready  for  the  work. 

PRACTICABILITY  OP  ROAD. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  been  told  by  gentlemen  on  this  floor  that  they 
would  support  the  measure  if  they  believed  it  practicable,  but  they 
doubted  the  practicability  of  constructing  a  road  to  the  Pacific.  I  wish 
to  say  that'  the  practicability  of  the  enterprise  is  not’  doubted  by  any 
one  personally  conversant  with  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome.  I  have 
crossed  the  continent  myself ;  1  have  crossed  the  central  region  from  the 
waters  of  the*  Atlantic  to  those  of  the  Pacific,  on  different  lines,  and  on 
foot,  and  examined  the  country  with  reference  to  its  practicability  for 
*  railroad  purposes.  Several  routes  have  been  surveyed  with  complete 
success ;  and  I  make  no  departure  from  truth  in  stating  that  there  are 
several  feasible  routes  for  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific  ;  and  more  than  this, 
that  there  is  more  than  one  route  offering  greater  facilities  than  was 
offered  for  any  extensive  line  that  has  been  yet  constructed  either  in 
this  country  or  Europe.  Nearly  the  whole  route  would  lie  along  level 
plains  and  table-lands,  already  graded  by  the  hand  of  Nature.  No 
mountains  need  be  encountered ;  but  few  considerable  streams  need  be 
crossed  ;  there  is  no  obstacle  but  the  unpeopled  wilderness.  The  enter¬ 
prise  looms  up  into  threatening  proportions,  because  it  lies  in  the  dis¬ 
tance.  Embrace  it ;  closely  consider  it ;  and  it  loses  all  its  Herculean 
features.  Within  the  past  year  between  two  and  three  thousand 
miles  of  railroad  have  been  constructed  in  the  United  States,  requir¬ 
ing  as  much  capital  as  is  required  for  this  entire  work.  When  In¬ 
diana  and  Illinois  have  completed  their  railroads  now  in  progress,  they 
will  each  have  a  thousand  miles  more  of  road  than  is  required  for 
this  entire  line,  besides  having  hewn  through  the  solid  rock  a  way 
uniting  the  northern  lakes  with  the  groat  father  of  waters.  If  the  en¬ 
ergy  and  enterprise  of  two  poor  almost  bankrupt  Western  States  has 
been  sufficient  to  secure  the  accomplishment  of  such  results,  it  seems 
to  me  to  be  a  coward  spirit  that  would  startle  at  the  project  of  a  road 
two  thousand  miles  in  length  ;  a  road  in  which  the  enterprise  and  in¬ 
terests  of  the  whole  republic  are  concerned  ;  one  which  is  not  only  to 
bind  the  confederacy  together,  but  which  is  to  bear  the  treasures  of 
many  nations  along  its  track.  It  is  a  work  that  can,  and  must,  and 
will  be  done.  The  only  question  is,  when  and  where  shall  it  be  com¬ 
menced? — when  and  how  shall  the  initiative  be  taken?  I  ask  of  this 
committee,  I  ask  of  this  Congress,  that  we  take  the  initiative  here, 
now,  without  any  unnecessary  delay. 

FOREIGN  COMPETITION. 

I  wish  now  to  urge  upon  the  committee  the  importance  of  prompt 
^action  in  this  matter.  „ 

It  is  now  but  a  brief  period  since  we  established  a  commercial 


15 


position  upon  the  Pacific  :  until  then,  nearly  all  the  commerce  of  that 
t  ocean  was  in  the  hands  of  European  merchants ;  for  two  or  three 
years  they  even  controlled  the  commerce  of  San  Francisco.  Sinc« 
then,  the  boldness  and  enterprise  of  our  own  merchants  have  been 
steadily  driving  them  out  of  the  field  of  competition,  and  now  we  con¬ 
trol  the  trade  of  a  greater  portion  of  our  American  coast  and  the  Pa¬ 
cific  islands,  and  are  maintaining  a  successful  contest  with  England 
for  ascendency  in  the  ports  of  China.  This  course  of  things  has  not 
been  disregarded  by  England ;  she  has  watched  our  advances  with  a 
jealous  eye,  and  was  preparing  to  take  decisive  steps  to  regain  her 
lost  position,  when  arrested  by  the  more  stern  demands  of  war. 

The  road  now  being  constructed  by  England,  uniting  the  Indus  with 
the  Ganges,  was  designed  but  as  part  of  a  system  of  roads  by  way  oi 
the  Rhine  and  the  Danube  to  Constantinople,  thence  by  the  head  of 
the  Persian  gulf,  through  India  and  China,  to  the  coast  of  the  Pacific. 
I  understand  that  just  previous  to  the  recent  disturbances,  England 
was  negotiating  with  the  Porte  for  the  right  of  way  through  the  Tur¬ 
kish  dominions.  The  line  from  Halifax  through  the  British  possessions 
north  to  Frazier’s  river,  on  the  Pacific,  is  a  project  seriously  contem- 

Elated  by  our  northern  neighbors,  and  in  it  they  have  the  support  of 
eavy  English  capital.  Russia  also  has  an  eye  to  the  Pacific,  and  has 
been  pushing  her  works  rapidly  towards  the  East. 

In  the  midst  of  these  projects,  Europe  has  been  suddenly  driven 
from  all  the  pursuits  and  enterprises  of  peace,  leaving  this  republic 
(the  only  great  commercial  power  not  engaged)  undisturbed  by  the 
accidents  and  calamities  of  war.  All  enterprise  but  ours  is  now  par¬ 
alyzed.  England  has  entered  the  lists  against  a  powerful  and  equal  ad¬ 
versary.  The  paths  of  peaceful  enterprise  are  now  ours  alone.  This 
is  the  time— -let  us  not  neglect  it — to  establish  a  complete  commercial 
ascendency  throughout  the  world.  I  call  upon  this  body,  and  this  body 
will  be  responsible  to  the  country  if  they  refuse  to  take  advantage  of 
the  time  and  the  occasion. 

CONCLUSION. 

If,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  possessed  the  true  spirit  of  inspiration,  or  the 
strong  conception  of  the  poet,  I  would  like  to  picture  the  vast  conse¬ 
quences  to  result  to  this  republic  from  the  construction  of  this  great 
work.  I  would  like  to  picture  the  consequences  that  would  follow  the 
opening  of  the  great  way  sought  for  by  the  adventurous  Genoese — the 
way  long  struggled  for  by  English  enterprise,  against  all  the  obstacles 
of  polar  seas — the  western  way  to  the  Indies.  I  would  like  to  exhibit 
the  commerce  of  the  world  centralized  within  our  own  borders — the 
wealth,  the  energy,  the  enterprise,  the  civilization,  and  the  opinions  of 
the  world  radiating  from  the  centre  of  our  great  American  republic  to 
the  most  distant  lands.  I  would  like  to  describe  our  republic  as  hold- 
|ng  the  ancient  East  and  W  est  in  either  hand,  and  from  her  centre  of 
Empire  making  laws  regulating  the  commerce  and  the  intercourse  of 
the  whole  of  the  commercial  world.  It  does  not  require  the  vision  of 
the  prophet  to  foresee  these  results,  as  consequences  to  the  union  of  the 
two  oceans  by  an  iron  way  across  our  republic,  and  on  the  great  line 


of  civilization ;  but  it  does  require  the  inspiration  of  the  poet  justly  to 
describe  the  great  results  to  be  achieved. 

I  have  but  one  word  more,  Mr.  Chairman.  I  recur  again  to  my  own 
people.  In  their  name,  in  the  name  of  your  brethren  beyond  the  mount¬ 
ains,  in  the  name  of  those  upon  the  distant  shores  of  the  Pacific,  to 
whom  you  owe  the  obligations  of  brotherhood,  of  protection,  and  of 
government,  give  us  communication,  give  us  union,  give  us  govern¬ 
ment  ;  allow  us  to  stapd  beneath  the  standard  of  the  stripes  and  stars 
as  one  people,  with  a  common  hope  and  a  common  destiny. 

You  may  deny  us  all  we  ask,  you  may  deny  us  union,  you  may  deny 
us  protection,  and  you  may  deny  us  government ;  you  may  leave  us 
alone,  girt  in  by  our  mountains  and  the  sea ;  1  say  to  you,  sir,  in  our 
valleys  and  upon  our  mountain-sides  we  will  build  up  the  homes  and 
altars  of  a  powerful  race ;  there,  upon  the  shores  of  the  great  Pacific, 
we  will  lay  the  foundations  of  a  majestic  empire.  Among  those  hills 
and  valleys  inhabit  an  indomitable  people.  Foreign  power  may  dor  a 
time  paralyze,  but  cannot  conquer  them.  Their  great  destiny  is  already 
fixed. 

I  say,  sir,  we  have  the  power  to  achieve  our  destiny  unaided 
and  alone.  Alone  we  feel  the  power  to  do  it;  but  no  wish  is  father  to 
that  thought.  We  would  be  brethren.  We  ask,  if  you  would  call  us 
brethren,  greet  us  as  such — reach  out  your  arm  towards  us,  and  let  it 
be  an  arm  as  strong  as  iron,  and  let  us  unite  in  g,  fraternal  and  iron 
grasp. 

The  passage  of  the  bill  submitted  to  this  House  will  build  the  iron 
road — will  be  the  extension  of  that  iron  arm.  We  will  grapple  iron 
hands  upon  the  summits  of  the  central  mountains;  and  when  there  we 
grasp  these  iron  hands  of  ours,  this  nation,  from  its  Atlantic  to  its  Pa¬ 
cific  shores,  will  send  up  such  a  voice  as  will  make  all  the  silent  air 
tremulous  with  triumph. 


